NASA is setting its sights on a distant 'jellyfish' galaxy

Jellyfish galaxy.
(Image credit: NASA)

NASA is getting ready to go hunting — not for a white whale, but for a jellyfish.

In a statement released last week, the agency announced its plans to investigate the distant galaxy ESO 137-001 once it launches its James Webb Space Telescope. The galaxy has earned its "jellyfish" nickname from the long "ribbons of young stars" that trail behind it as it makes its way through the cosmos, looking like "cosmic tentacles," NASA explained.

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Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.